ClickStart

03/03/2025

🔎 Hunt & Retrieve – Confidence, Problem-Solving & Fun! 🐶

This Saturday at 1 PM, we kick off our brand-new Hunt & Retrieve class, where dogs will use their noses, brains, and bodies to seek out and retrieve hidden scented items!

Last week, we created an epic obstacle run to challenge the dogs—not only did they have to jump over, go under, and weave through obstacles, but they also had to use their noses to locate and retrieve the scented item. This is what Hunt & Retrieve is all about:

✅ Building confidence – Encouraging dogs to navigate new challenges
✅ Enhancing problem-solving – Using scent and strategy to find the item
✅ Developing control & precision – Teaching steadiness, focus, and delivery to hand
✅ Strengthening teamwork – Handlers learning to guide and trust their dogs

🎥 Watch the video to see our Thursday class in action—how brilliant are these teams?! If your dog loves sniffing, searching, and retrieving, this is the class for you.

📍 Starts Saturday at 1 PM at Carmarthen Showground
💰 £115 for a 4-week course
📆 https://www.clickstartdogtraining.com/service-page/hunt-retrieve-2?category=95ee7ae0-4615-4502-89e6-b1e98643bb12&referral=service_list_widget

🐕 Could your dog take on this challenge?

03/03/2025

🐾 Join Us for a Walk & Support Dementia UK! 🐾

Come along and walk with us as we take on the March Dog Walking Challenge to raise funds for Dementia UK! You don’t need to be signed up for the challenge—just bring your dog, enjoy a social walk, and make a small donation to support families affected by dementia.

📅 Upcoming Walks – Join Us!
🐶 Tuesday 4th March – 4-5pm @ Parc Dewi Sant
🐾 Wednesday 12th March – 2.30-3.30pm @ Carmarthen Reservoir
🐕 Tuesday 18th March – 4-5pm @ River Walk from Carmarthen Leisure Centre
🚶‍♂️ Wednesday 26th March – 2.30-3.30pm @ St Clears River Walk from Car Park

These walks are a great chance to get out with your dogs, meet others, and support a fantastic cause. Whether you’re in the challenge or not, we’d love to have you join us!

💙 Make a small donation & walk with us:
https://fundraise.dementiauk.org/fundraisers/catherinevincent/march-dog-walk

Let’s get walking and make a difference together! 🐕🚶‍♀️💙

02/03/2025

🏅🐶 Dewi Sant Sniffer Dog Trials – What a Day! 🔥

Our Dewi Sant Sniffer Dog Trials at Parc Dewi Sant were absolutely fantastic! 🎯 Every team passed, showing amazing teamwork, focus, and some incredible sniffing skills! 🐾💨

A huge thank you to The Old Theatre Cafe for providing such a perfect venue! 🌿🏛️

🥇 Special congratulations to Anne & Seren, who took 1st place with a Distinction! 👏🏆

📢 Full results will be posted shortly! Keep an eye out! 👀

Check out the highlights in our video—what a brilliant day all round! 🎥🐶

Who’s ready for the next one? 🔥

01/03/2025

A huge thank you to Del and Sula for joining us on our first March Dog Walking Challenge walk this afternoon and for keeping the pace, making sure we stayed on track! 👏🐾

📍 Here’s a look at today’s walk from the Carmarthen Showground, along with some photos from the afternoon.

We’ll be posting dates and times for the next social walk soon, so keep an eye out—we’d love for more of you to join us!

💙 If you’d like to support our challenge, you can donate here:
https://fundraise.dementiauk.org/fundraisers/catherinevincent/march-dog-walk

Let’s keep walking for Dementia UK! 🐶🚶‍♂️💙

28/02/2025

🐾 Join Us for Our First March Dog Walk for Dementia UK! 🐾

We’re kicking off our March Dog Walking Challenge tomorrow with our first social dog walk! 🐶🚶‍♂️

📍 Location: Carmarthen Showground
🕐 Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
📅 Date: Tomorrow

Come along and help us clock up the 62 km we’re walking to raise funds for Dementia UK. If you’ve signed up for the challenge, join us for some company! If not, you can still donate and walk with us – every step helps families affected by dementia.

👉 Sign up or donate here: https://fundraise.dementiauk.org/event/march-dog-walk/home

See you and your dogs tomorrow! 💙🐕

28/02/2025

🐶✨ Sniffer Dog Training – 2 Spaces Available! ✨🐶

Got a dog who loves to sniff? Why not put that amazing nose to work! 🐾

We have a couple of spaces available in our Sniffer Dog Foundations & Beyond class! Whether your dog is a total beginner or you’re looking to build on their existing sniffing skills, this is a fun, structured way to introduce scent detection training.

🐾 Sniffer Dog Foundations & Beyond – Teach your dog how to search, indicate, and develop their scentwork skills.
🐾 One-to-One Training – Prefer individual support? We offer one-off sessions or a block of three to get you started on the right track.

💡 No experience needed! We’ve got a great mix of beginners and returning dogs, so your dog will fit right in.

📍 Location: Carmarthenshire
📅 Class Time: Tuesday at 6 PM

📩 Message us to grab one of the last spots!

27/02/2025

💬 Client Spotlight – Mandy & Pip 💬

We absolutely love hearing how much our Sniffer Club is making a difference for dogs and their owners! Mandy and her lovely dog Pip recently joined us, and it’s safe to say they’ve caught the sniffing bug 🐾👃

Here’s what Mandy had to say about their experience so far:

📢 “Cath and Wendy are brilliant trainers. Pip has taken to their Sniffer Club like a duck to water. It’s great fun for both him and me. We’ve only recently started out on this ‘journey’ but we’re hooked already. Pip can no longer participate in agility or CaniX due to intermittent lameness, so this is PERFECT for him as there is no stress on any joints. Give it a go. Any dog can do it.”

Thank you, Mandy & Pip, for your kind words! Sniffing is such an inclusive and rewarding activity, and we love seeing dogs like Pip thrive. 💜🐶

👉 If you’re looking for a low-impact but super engaging activity for your dog, why not give scent detection a try? Drop us a message to find out more!

26/02/2025

One of the reasons Wendy and I love scentwork so much isn’t just because it’s a fun sport, but because it has real, everyday benefits for dogs. We often talk about how sniffing is one of the most powerful tools dogs have, not just for finding things, but for feeling calmer, making better choices, and even changing how they interact with other dogs.

I saw this first-hand today in a one-to-one session with Sid 🐶, a lovely rescue terrier. Sid finds the world outside exciting but overwhelming, and when things get too much, she tends to lunge and bark at cars, people, and dogs passing by.

To help her process her surroundings in a calmer way, we introduced sniffy games 🐾. Engaging her nose gave her something structured and rewarding to focus on, helping her slow down, regulate her emotions, and make better choices.

And it’s not just about helping Sid feel calmer, sniffing also changes how other dogs perceive her. A dog who is sniffing is giving off softer, more neutral body language, making them far less likely to trigger a reaction from another dog. In contrast, a dog who isn’t sniffing is usually looking, and it’s the looking that can often lead to reactions.

And look at her go! Instead of fixating on passing cars and people, she’s fully engaged in sniffing, a much healthier outlet for all that energy.

25/02/2025

Tuesday’s Training Tip: Why Your Dog’s Indication is So Important in Scentwork

🧠 Are You Rewarding the Odour or the Indication? 🧠

When training scent detection, what exactly are we reinforcing?

🐾 If we reward finding the odour, we strengthen the search behaviour.
🐾 If we reward the trained indication, we reinforce a clear and reliable response.

How Indication Reinforces Finding the Odour

This is where behaviour chains come in! The indication becomes a high-probability behaviour (something the dog is eager to do because it predicts a reward), which in turn reinforces the act of searching and finding the odour.

Think of it like this:
🍦 I go to the freezer, open the door, and grab my ice cream, I don’t just stop at the door! I need to complete the whole chain before I can enjoy my treat.

🐶 A well-reinforced indication doesn’t just mark the end of the search, it strengthens the entire process. The more reliable the indication, the stronger the motivation to search in the first place.

24/02/2025

🐶 Sniffer Dogs Foundation & Beyond – Starting Tomorrow! 🕵️‍♂️

Tomorrow night, our new Sniffer Dogs Foundation & Beyond course begins!

We’ll be working on:
🔍 Introducing a new target odour – Teaching the dogs to recognise and search for it.
🔍 Passive indication training – Helping them develop a clear, confident freeze behaviour.
🔍 Line-up searches – Searching a row of items and identifying the correct one.

🐾 Haven’t booked onto the class yet? There’s still time! If you’d like to get your dog involved, drop us a message today.

📸 We’ll be sharing highlights after class, stay tuned!

23/02/2025

🚨 UK DOG SPORT EVENT – ENTRIES NOW OPEN! 🚨

Ready to put your dog’s skills to the test? Our UK Dog Sport event is happening on Sunday, 11th May at 10 AM at Pen Y Banc, Llangyndeyrn, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, SA17 5ES 🐕🏆

🐾 Novice & Intermediate Levels
👩‍⚖️ Judge: Tracey Coutts
💰 Entry: £25 per dog
📅 Entries close: 20th April

A fantastic opportunity to challenge your dog in a fun and structured environment, with a friendly competition atmosphere!

📩 To secure your spot, complete the entry form and submit your payment of £25. Bank details:
🔹 Catherine A Vincent
🔹 Sort Code: 11-01-51
🔹 Account Number: 11694767
🔹 Reference: Your Surname + UKDS

For more information, contact us at:
📧 [email protected]
📞 07779265170

Spots are limited – don’t miss out! 🐕💨

23/02/2025

📢 Canine First Aid Course - A Fantastic Day of Learning! 🐾

What a brilliant day we had at our Canine First Aid Course with Lorraine from Dog First Aid Cheshire! 🐶💙

Lorraine delivered an engaging, informative, and hands-on session, ensuring everyone gained the confidence and skills needed to handle canine emergencies. From CPR practice to bandaging techniques, attendees got fully involved, making the most of this valuable training.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us! The beautiful The Old Theatre Cafe provided the perfect setting for a day of learning and skill-building. ☕✨

That’s our first aid training (and CPD accreditation) topped up for the next 3 years! ✅

21/02/2025

🐾 Fun Friday! Tell us… what’s the funniest thing your dog has ever ‘retrieved’ for you? 🎾🐶

Maybe they proudly brought you a sock or a slipper, or something they definitely weren’t supposed to have! 😂 (Or some rubbish like Caio here!) Drop your stories in the comments—we’d love to hear them!

If your dog loves retrieving, why not put that skill to good use? Our Hunt & Retrieve class is all about turning that natural drive into a fun and structured activity! 🏆

➡️ Find out more & book here: https://www.clickstartdogtraining.com/service-page/hunt-retrieve-2?category=95ee7ae0-4615-4502-89e6-b1e98643bb12&referral=service_list_widget

21/02/2025

🐾🚶‍♀️ Join Us for a 62km Walking Challenge in March! 💙

This March, we’re taking on the 62km for Dementia Challenge—walking 62km with our dogs to raise money for dementia support and research. We’d love for our ClickStart Dog Training community to get involved too!

Whether you want to take on the full 62km or just join us for some friendly meet-ups along the way, we’d love to walk together, enjoy the fresh air, and support a great cause. Throughout March, we’ll be organising group walks so our clients and their dogs can join in and clock up the kilometres together.

🐶 How to Get Involved:
✔ Take on the 62km challenge yourself and log your walks with your dog
✔ Join us for one of our planned group walks—dates & locations to be announced!
✔ Donate to support the cause if you’d like to help but can’t join in

Let’s get walking, enjoy time with our dogs, and make a difference together! Keep an eye on our page for updates on our meet-up walks. Who’s in? 🐾💙

Hi there, This March, I’m walking 62K with my dog for Dementia UK – a cause close to my heart. Just £8 could pay for the telephone costs of two families calling its free Dementia Helpline, so any support would be appreciated. Thank you so much!

20/02/2025

📢 What is Hunt & Retrieve? 🐾🔍

Ever wondered what Hunt & Retrieve is all about? 🤔

This class is designed to tap into your dog’s natural instincts in a structured and fun way, teaching them to:
✅ Hunt for a hidden item 🔎
✅ Retrieve it and bring it back to hand 🐶
✅ Work independently and gain confidence 👏

If your dog loves sniffing, retrieving, or searching, this is the perfect way to build those skills!

🎥 Check out this clip from our last session to see Hunt & Retrieve in action! 👇🐾

🎾 Want to join the fun? We’ve got a space left in our upcoming beginners’ class! Secure your spot here:

➡️ Book now: https://www.clickstartdogtraining.com/service-page/hunt-retrieve-2?category=95ee7ae0-4615-4502-89e6-b1e98643bb12&referral=service_list_widget

19/02/2025

📢 Puppy Highlight – Alfie’s Big Achievement! 🎉🐶

A huge congratulations to Alfie and his fantastic owner for passing their Puppy Foundation Assessment! 🏆🐾

Training is a journey, and this team has worked incredibly hard, showing patience, dedication, and perseverance every step of the way. It’s been a pleasure watching their confidence grow, and this achievement is so well deserved!

“Thank you Cathy from both of you for the lovely training, so happy Alfie passed, you are both lovely lady's thank you for the lovely training ###🥰❤️”

Well done, both of you! We can’t wait to see what’s next for Alfie. 💛

If you’d like to start your puppy’s training journey, check out our upcoming courses here: https://www.clickstartdogtraining.com/book-online?category=f4676415-f6e5-4662-ba2e-a02941068a88

19/02/2025

🐾 This Sunday – We’re Ready! 🐾

We are so excited for this Sunday’s Dog First Aid Training at the new (warmer) venue: The Old Theatre Café, Carmarthen! 🏡🐶

With the event fully booked, we’re looking forward to a fantastic day of hands-on learning, practical skills, and plenty of teamwork. A huge thank you to for hosting. It’s going to be a brilliant session, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone who’s joining us!

📍 Venue: The Old Theatre Café, Parc Dewi Sant, Jobs Well Rd, Carmarthen, SA31 3HB
⏰ Time: 10:30 am - 3 pm

See you there! Let’s make it a great one! 🎉🐾

18/02/2025

🏅 Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Test Results! 🎉🐾

Last night, our Kennel Club Good Citizen handlers took on the Bronze test, putting their training to the test! We’re thrilled to say that three teams passed and are now officially Bronze Award holders! 🏆👏

✨ Huge congratulations to:
🐶 Cathie with her two fabulous Cocker Spaniels, Belle & Bertie
🐶 Jacque with her sweet Clumber Spaniel, Dottie

They’ve all worked so hard, and it’s fantastic to see their dedication pay off!

We were absolutely gutted that Tash & Simba couldn’t make it after putting in exceptional effort throughout their training. They’ve worked so hard, and we can’t wait to see them back in action soon! 💪🐾

Even if it wasn’t your night this time, every training session is progress, and we’re so proud of all the teams. 🐶💛

🐕 Thinking about working towards your Kennel Club award? Our next Good Citizen class is starting soon—get in touch to find out more!

➡️ Book here: https://www.clickstartdogtraining.com/service-page/kc-good-citizen-class?category=dc2a32bb-2cc4-4b90-8bff-01105859b5c4&referral=service_list_widget